The Strength of Allies
by Celnes Billa
Summary: The Kuo-Toa invasion of Brethon's northern coast is in full swing. During a violent battle, a Hobgoblin warrior named Sckàll is separated from his warband. Almost drowning, he is saved by a Goblin named Eglum, who has also been separated from his group. Lost in the wilderness, the two team up to achieve their goals and quickly learn the strength that an ally can bring.
1. Chapter 1

Rated-M for course language and scenes of violence

* * *

The Strength of Allies

by

Celnes Billa

Brethon Island

Region: Gaelicia

Year: 782-Thridda Age

The moon shined brightly in the sky, surrounded by the flickering torchlight of the stars, with not a cloud in sight. Despite the calmness of the sky, the forest below was anything but.

Metal against mental, enraged roars and pained screams tore through the forest in some sort of primal symphony. Their source? Hobgoblins and Kuo-Toas engaged in a bloody battle, with neither side really gaining the advantage.

In turns out, the worries had actually been right. The Kuo-Toa raids of the last few years, have resulted in an invasion. Their legions rampaged out of the sea and onto the land. First, they hit the coasts and after that, they began pushing further inland into the forests and mountains of Northern Brethon, attacking all the of the island's native races.

The Hobgoblin and Goblin tribes had formed massive coalitions to counter the invasion, and so far had been relatively successful in their campaigns. However, the war was still far from over, as the Kuo-Toa had come out on top a number of times as well. Now, it had simply been a seemingly endless game of back and forth between them.

Just on the outskirts of the true fray of the battle, a Hobgoblin Warrior named Sckàll fought ferociously against a Kuo-Toa spearmen. Using his shield and his much greater agility, Sckàll was able to easily dodge the thrusts and swings of his opponent and counter with various slashes and jabs of his own. Rather stupidly he thought, the Kuo-Toa simply tossed the spear away and pulled out a small blade from his sheath.

Howling and seemingly ignoring it's injuries, the Kuo-Toa charged at Sckàll. Sckàll was about to simply sidestep the idiotic creature and stab it through the back, when it did something unexpected. Out of its mouth, erupted a strange, clear liquid that quickly covered Sckàll's face.

Unable to see, and without enough time to wipe it off, Sckàll felt the Kuo-Toa slam into him and knock him to the ground, dropping his sword in the process.

The Kuo-Toa hissed before raising the blade and bringing it down, but relying on his reflexes alone, Sckàll was able to catch it's arm. The Kuo-Toa quickly used both hands to bring the blade down, but the significantly stronger Hobgoblin still held the blade at bay. The slime the Kuo-Toa had spat was still plastered to Sckàll's face so his vision was still obscured, but with his free arm, Sckàll punched upwards and landed a powerful blow to the Kuo-Toa's face.

It let out a pained grunt before toppling backwards off of Sckàll, who quickly wiped the slime off of his face and grabbed his sword. The Kuo-Toa was slowly getting back up, but Sckàll was quicker and kicked the sea-dweller back down before sinking his blade into its face. It let out a slow death rattle before finally going still.

Removing his blade, Sckàll still found his eyes to be sore and blurry. He could barely see anything clearly around him, and panic was quickly welling up within him. For a moment, he thought to simply abandon the battle and find someplace to heal and then return once he'd had. But if he did that, he'd be branded a coward, an unhonourable lout and face the danger of a massive reduction of his status, if not complete banishment for even thinking of abandoning his war band at a time like this. Reluctantly, the Hobgoblin shakily made his way back into the battle. If he was to die, then he would do it fighting. But despite telling himself this, he was was not ready to die at all.

Once he arrived however, he smelt smoke and felt heat begin to well up around him. Everyone sounded panicked, even the Kuo-Toa we're letting out frightened screeches.

The he heard a voice yell, "FIRE! THE FOREST IS ON FIRE!"

What followed was a massive panic as Hobgoblin and Kuo-Toa ran through a rapidly burning forest. Some were unlucky enough to fall into the flames, and their screams echoed in conjunction with the horrid crackles, as fire burnt through wood and vegetation.

Fear-induced adrenaline kept Sckàll going through the smoke, which alongside his still blurred vision was making it increasingly difficult to see. He wasn't even sure if he was still with his war band anymore, as everyone seemed to scatter as the smoke was getting thicker. He did not know where he was going, but he couldn't care less at the moment. He needed to get out of this fire.

Suddenly, he felt his foot land into thin air, and found himself tumbling down a steep bank that had luckily not been engulfed by the fire yet. He gripped the earth, and foliage tightly with his hands and claws, but none of it kept him still for long and before he knew it, he found himself surrounded by water.

Thrashing rapidly, he managed to get his head above the water, but the current was strong and he was dunked beneath the waves again, and water was quickly began filling his mouth and throat. Kicking as strongly as he could, he swam up to the surface again, but the current was too powerful and was pulling him along with it as if he weighed nothing. Panicking and desperately trying to keep his head above the water, Sckàll desperately searched around for anything to grab onto, but found nothing. The bank was too far away and the current was too strong for him to get to it.

His strength was faltering now, and he found every stroke and every attempt to keep himself above the water increasingly difficult to accomplish. His vision was fading, his mouth was filling with increasing amounts of water, and his limbs felt completely weightless and unable to move anymore.

He was dead, he knew he was. This was how he would die, not in the heat of battle, not battling a worthy opponent. He was just going to drown, and have his body fed upon by fish. But he couldn't care less at the moment, he just wanted this pain to stop.

Just before darkness fully covered his vision, and he welcomed the sweet embrace of death and the coming judgement by The Great Nomog-Geaya, he felt something grip him by the left arm.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter-2

Sckàll felt absolutely awful. His stomach felt like hell, his chest was stinging to oblivion and his head felt like a mace had been taken to it. He also noticed that he was sat up against something, with his most likely guess being a tree. But, the last thing he remembered was being stuck in the river, drowning.

Confused, Sckàll opened his eyes. Thankfully, the blurriness appeared to have worn off now, but his eyes were still sore. He looked around and to his surprise, he was on dry land, sat up against a tree not too far away from the river he was drowning in. It was still night, though the moon's placement and the slightly light blue tone of the sky implied that day was not far off.

For a second, he thought he had died and for one reason or another, had been denied entrance into the afterlife and forced to roam the lands as a ghost. But, he didn't feel dead. If he was, he sure as all the hells would not be feeling as bad as he was now.

…

Perched on the highest branch of the tree he had sat the Hobgoblin against, after pulling him out of the river an hour ago, Eglum watched the larger Goblinoid.

He was big, as most Hobgoblins were. At least six foot seven, probably well over two-hundred and forty pounds and built like a panther. It was an intimidating sight, and Eglum was a Goblin who was not intimidated easily.

He had woken up now, and Eglum was debating in his mind whether to show himself.

Hobgoblin opinions on Goblins tended to be rather mixed, some saw them as Kindred spirits, while others saw his kind as just a weaker Goblinoid, little more than an inferior nuisance not worth their time. An injured one like this, would no doubt be in a bad mood and Eglum doubted he'd be able to take him on if he decided to attack him.

Eglum had however been hearing rumours of Hobgoblin and Goblin tribes forming alliances and coalitions to combat the invading Fish People, so there was a chance that this Hobgoblin could be from one of those tribes.

In fact he remembered, his tribe had made contact with a friendly Hobgoblin tribe once, when he was a very young Suckling. Because of it, he and the rest of his tribe's sucklings had been taught the "Common Goblic", which was a common tongue spoke independently of a tribe's native tongue, for easier communication between different tribes and Goblinoid races.

Eglum would have to hope a lot of things from this particular Hobgoblin, because in truth he really needed his help.

Eglum was the only survivor of a raiding party, that was planning an attack on a Kuo-Toa outpost. However, the sea-demons had somehow caught wind of it and his raiding band was ambushed before they even got close to the outpost. It was a slaughter, the Kuo-Toa charged from almost every direction and the only reason Eglum had managed to survive was because he was knocked out. His comrades however were overwhelmed and butchered, and once he'd woken up, he was covered in their blood. To say it was horrifying would be an understatement.

That was two days ago now, and he had not been able to sleep at all.

He was alone, and being a lone Goblin out in the wilderness at a time like this would very likely not end well for him. He was new to this area, so he didn't know his way around at all, which meant he had no chance of getting back to his tribe without any help.

Having this big and much more powerful Hobgoblin with him would no doubt better his chances at survival. But in truth, Eglum had felt another reason for saving him from the river. But he could not quite put his finger on it.

Was it guilt over not being able to help his comrades, during the Kuo-Toa attack and by saving this fellow Goblinoid from certain dead, he would redeem himself? Was the extreme loneliness he felt being lost here becoming so unbearable that he was reaching out for any kind of companionship? Was it simply the right thing to do, as Bargrivyek the Peacekeeper, who preached peace and cooperation between the Goblinoid races, encouraged? Likely, it was a combination of the three.

Sitting quietly, Eglum continued to debate with his mind.

…

Groaning and holding his head, Sckàll attempted to move and immediatedly regretted it. He lurched forward on his hands and knees and vomited out a disgusting mixture of what he had eaten yesterday and the water he had taken in, while he was drowning.

The smell was absolutely revolting, and what followed after was another stream of vomit followed by two more of bile, until he was practically emptied of his stomach contents. Retching a few more times, he collapsed onto his side.

His stomach was on fire, his headache was even worse and a disgusting taste had now engulfed his mouth. Gods, he felt like absolute hell at this moment and was honestly starting to wish that the river really had taken him.

He had no idea were he was, or if there were any other clans nearby. The state he was in right now, meant that there was no way in hell he could move around properly. He had none of his weapons, besides a small dagger. If a predator, or even worse, the Kuo-Toa came upon him like this, he was done for.

Just then, he heard a loud thud come from somewhere in front of him.

Ignoring the pain as primal instinct kicked in, Sckàll instantly went for his dagger and got into a fighting crouch.

It was a Goblin, who now currently had his hand around his own blade, ready to draw if anything were to happen. Though to Sckàll's surprise, the smaller Goblinoid was pretty calm.

Sckàll relaxed a little bit, if not because he could handle a Goblin easy, it was because his tribe was relatively on good terms with the ones in their area. Though, he'd never seen this particular one before.

He seemed to be of the Bogill type of Goblin, because of his relatively tall height (for a Goblin) of about five feet and sage-green skin. Sckàll's tribe had made contact with a Bogill tribe, but he wasn't sure if this individual was from it. He looked rather young too, Sckàll guessed he was near his own age.

He was surprised when the Goblin gave a very quiet, if hesitant "H-Hello?".

The Goblin had said it in perfectly clear Goblic, so he must have been from the tribe Sckàll's had made contact with.

Sckàll relaxed a bit, but still did not put his blade away. The Goblin also noticeably became less tense, but still remained slightly defensive.

So, this Goblin must have pulled him out of the river, but how? and perhaps more importantly why? Sure, it could just be chalked up to species loyalty, as some Goblins and Hobs were like that, but why would he risk his life to try and rescue a Hobgoblin he'd never met that could very likely be dead, from a rushing river?

Sighing, Sckàll sat down carefully, as to not rile up his stomach again, as the adrenaline had subsided and he was now feeling awful. The Goblin, did the same, albiet a lot more cautiously. Sckàll still kept his blade out just to be careful though.

Sckàll rubbed his head, noticing that his long, scraggly hair was still slightly wet. He'd have to get dry soon, as he didn't want his armour to rust.

He turned his greenish-yellow eyes to the Goblin sat opposite him. He looking at the ground, clearly as deep in thought as Sckàll was.

"So…" Sckàll suddenly said, causing the smaller Goblinoid to jump, much to Sckàll's slight amusement, though he did not show it, "Why did you save me?"

…

"Um…" Was the only word that Eglum could let out, and he mentally scolded himself for it. Sighing, he figured the best thing to do was tell him the truth.

"Well… you're a fellow Goblin-kin like me. I could see you thrashing around in the water, and I… I'd just feel like a right piece of shit if I didn't do anything. I mean… Bargrivyek the Peacekeeper always encourages peace, cooperation and alliances between us Goblins, and I… follow his principles very fucking closely."

…

Sckàll had heard of Bargrivyek, though he was a deity that was seldom worshipped by Hobgoblins. Their patron deity was Nomog-Geaya, The God of War and Authority.

Sckàll couldn't be too sure however, if the goblin was being as truthful as he claimed. They could be rather devious at the end of the day, and many of them were not exactly as honourable, as Hobgoblins were.

"Is that really all?" Sckàll said, his eyes slightly narrowing.

…

Crap, he was onto him.

Eglum sighed, with his head down and his ears slightly drooping.

"Well, I'm on my own out here. Me and my warband were going to attack a Sea-Demon outpost but somehow, the bastards caught wind of it, and fucking ambushed us." Eglum went quiet as the memory of waking up, drenched in the blood of his comrades and seeing their bodies torn to ribbons, began to flood his mind.

"I-I… I was the only survivor." He said, as he could just not describe those events again.

…

Sckàll noticed the Goblin's sudden change in demeanour. The sombre expression, the lowered ears and the sudden stuttering. It made him confused, and somewhat uncomfortable. Hobgoblins were always expected to keep their emotions in check when in the presence of others, as it could very easily lead to being seen as a sign of weakness. Emotions were always expected to be reserved for family members and even then, only when it was necessary.

Still though, Sckàll felt something. He did not know this Goblin, and quite frankly, did not trust his intentions much as well. But, seeing him in such as state… did elicit something, something that made him feel… sad?

Getting confused, Sckàll shook it off.

The Goblin was still staring at the ground, seemingly conflicted in thought.

"Hey…" Said Sckàll and the Goblin instantly perked up to look at him.

"I'm going to get some sleep. I feel horrible, and my stomach feels like its going to erupt if a spend anymore time upright."

Carefully, Sckàll laid down on his back and looked at the Goblin, who just looked back silently.

"We'll continue this conversation in the morning." He said before glaring, "Don't you dare try anything. I wake up and that knife, is anywhere near me… I'll tear you're head off."

"Uh… ok." Said the Goblin nervously, "Uh… don't worry. I won't try anything… Remember, I do believe in Bargrivyek's philosophy." The Goblin said with a slight, though nervous smile.

Sckàll closed his eyes. But a thought came to him, even though he didn't trust the Goblin, so far he'd proven himself… legitimate in his words and at the end of the day, he did save Sckàll, so he did deserve some thanks for that.

"Well you did save me from the river, and for that you have my thanks." Said Sckàll, before shutting his mind off.

"Well… you're welcome." Replied Eglum.

…

He'd messed this up big time, he knew it. Why did he have to get so emotional over his warband's demise? Why couldn't he just tell him about his situation and why he wanted to team up?

Well, he was asleep now and Eglum knew better than to try and wake him up to better explain himself. He'd have to wait until morning. Still though, the Hobgoblin was clearly interested, so there was that.

Eglum laid down on his back and decided to think up how to explain himself to the Hobgoblin. He had at least until morning to cook up something good, because he had no intentions of sleeping. Not with those awful images still fresh in his mind.

* * *

_Author's Note: _Here a bit of background of my world (specifically Brethon Island). I based it on Britain, and I have made DND races that originate in British folklore and pop-culture (Goblins, Hobgoblins, Pixies, Hin/Halflings which are pretty much Hobbits, and several others I'll be adding on later) the island's native inhabitants.

Brethon is currently set in its equivalent of the very early Bronze Age, which means all its native races are tribal. The Hobgoblins for instance, are not the militaristic warmongers yet, but their honour-based, militaristic-culture is definitely beginning grow, especially with the Kuo-Toa invasion.

I'll add some more background in the coming chapters.

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER-3

Sckàll opened his eyes, and quickly closed them again as they were hit by sunlight.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes before opening them again. It was early morning, judging from how shadowed the bank was, the cool air and there was still mildew on much of the vegetation.

He felt slightly better now than he did last night, when the Goblin had saved him from the river. Though his stomach still ached, his chest was still sore and he doubted he'd be able to hold down any food for a while. His headache had thankfully calmed considerably however.

Speaking of the Goblin, he was laying down a few feet away from Sckàll. Sprawled out on his back, and lightly snoring.

Sckàll noticed now, in the much brighter conditions, the Goblin's long and dark red hair. It was quite a surprising sight, as he did not know of Goblins being able to have that kind of pigment, most of the ones he'd encountered had black hair. Though Bogills were a Goblin type that his kind were still not very knowledgable about.

Getting up, Sckàll walked over to the Goblin and nudged him not too gently with his foot. He was intent on finishing the conversation last night after all.

…

Eglum ran. He ran as fast as his legs could take him, through the rapidly thickening wood. Blood was pouring out of the sky, drenching him and the surrounding forest whilst pained screamed and savage, pleasured roars echoed throughout it at a volume that almost burst Eglum's eardrums.

They killed them all, and now they were coming for him.

He ran, he ran and he didn't dare look back. But in his panicked haze, he failed to notice the large stone in front of him. His foot slammed into it, and he was sent toppling forwards into a chasm.

He screamed as he was sent falling into the abyss, only to fall into a river of crimson water. Blood filled his mouth and lungs, and he tried to get back to the surface, but out of the red haze beneath him, there came bloody tendrils to wrap around his legs.

They were too strong, he tried scream but he could not. He was pulled into the red hell, and below he saw the glowing eyes of thousands of Kuo-Toa. Each brandishing blades and their own claws, ready to tear him to shreds.

He closed his eyes, just wishing for death to take him. But instead, he felt something take him by the wrist. Before he could even open his eyes again, he felt himself be pulled out of the tendril's grasp and out of the water.

With a gasp, Eglum opened his eyes. Standing above him, with a neutral look on his face, was the Hobgoblin.

Gods, he knew he should not have slept. He knew those Sea-Demons would come to torment him again and those images were still vividly burning in his mind. But, he was thankfully awake now.

"Now that you are awake, let's talk." Said the Hobgoblin.

Getting on his feet, Eglum dusted himself off before looking up at the looming Hobgoblin. He looked even bigger now than he did last night, and Eglum honestly felt insignificant standing in front of him.

"A-about… saving you, right?" Asked Eglum.

"Yes." The Hobgoblin stated bluntly.

"Its like what I told last night really. It was the right thing to do, and well… like I said, I'm on my own out here. You are too aren't you?" Eglum said, almost sweating in anticipation of what he was about to ask the Hobgoblin.

"Yes… for how long though I don't know." Replied the Hobgoblin.

_That was encouraging, _Eglum sarcastically thought to himself.

"Where's your tribe? Are they in this forest? Can't you go back to them?" Sckàll asked.

Eglum shook his head, "Yes they are in the forest, but I don't know how to get back. After the ambush… I just ran until I ended up in a part of the forest I hadn't been before. We'd only just came here from the Soaked Hills near the coast, to escape the Sea-Demons. The fuckers are all over there now. But… it turns out this forest ain't much better. I'm lost out here, I have no idea where my tribe is."

"What's the name of it?" Sckàll asked.

"The Feothlac." Eglum replied.

_The Feothlac? Yes that was the Bogill tribe his tribe had made contact with _Sckàll remembered.

"So…" Eglum suddenly said, pulling Sckàll out of his thoughts.

"I was thinking that… because we're both on our own in a very dangerous forest during a very hostile time… we could… work together?" Eglum asked, rather hesitantly.

Work together? Why? He was a big, armoured Hobgoblin with the strength of a Stone-Cat. Plus, he could just simply contact one of his clan-outposts with his bone-whistle. That was a suggested option if one were to find themselves separated from their warband. Although, there was the Kuo-Toa to worry about. Using his Bone-Whistle could no doubt attract their attention as well, and even though he was twice the size of them, he could not take on a group of them in the state he was in.

This Goblin could be of help now that he thought about it. For one, he still had all of his weapons, and extra muscle would always come in handy in a fight. Especially given the fact that Goblins are very fast, and speed was something the Kuo-Toa lacked. Goblins were also well known for their climbing ability, so he would make good use of the trees as vantage points and to better look for signs of their respective peoples.

Mulling it over for few seconds, Sckàll decided that a temporary alliance would prove quite useful. Though as soon as they found either of their people, they would have to separate. Sckàll's tribe was only friendly with the Goblins from their original territory, a place they had left a while ago because of the conflict with Kuo-Toa. Even though they had made contact with this Goblin's tribe in the past, he still doubted he would be tolerated, because not all of his kin thought highly of their smaller cousins nor were all of them aware of this prior contact. He had heard many of his fellow warriors talk poorly of Goblins, over the course of the campaign in this forest.

He also doubted he'd be welcomed by this Goblin's tribe as well if they found them. Opinions do change overtime after all.

"Alright," He said suddenly, making Eglum jump, "I'll… join you"

Eglum honestly felt like he'd been blessed by the gods.

"Really?" He said dumbfounded.

"Yes." Replied Sckàll, "We'll search for our peoples. But if we find mine first, we separate and the same goes for if we find your tribe first."

That sounded reasonable, but what if they found the Hobgoblin's tribe first? And what would the Hobgoblin do if Eglum found his tribe first?

He was about to ask that when the Hobgoblin spoke up:

"Come on, its morning. We have plenty of time to search."

"On my way." Eglum said quietly.

At the very least they had allied, but Eglum found himself conflicted with the rules of this alliance, that the Hobgoblin had set.

Two Hours Later…

The two Goblinoids had walked together in silence, besides Sckàll occasionally ordering Eglum to climb trees to get a better view of their surroundings. So far they had seen nothing, no Goblins, No Hobgoblins and thankfully no Kuo-Toa.

Finding the silence awkward, Eglum decided to ask the Hobgoblin the question he was meaning to ask at the river this morning.

"So… tell me. If we find my tribe first, what're you going to do after you leave?"

Sckàll continued walking forward but answered:

"I'll just keep looking. My tribe has set up several outposts in this forest, I'm bound to come across one of them. Plus I have this Bone-Whistle I can use to alert my presence to them, but I don't want to use in case it attracts the Kuo-Toa."

_Kuo-Toa? Was that what they were called? _Eglum thought to himself. He had been trying to avoid thinking about the Sea-Demons since that horrible nightmare this morning.

Trying to get rid of that memory, Eglum asked, "If we find your people first then… What should I do? Just keeping looking too?"

"Yes." Sckàll said rather bluntly, "If you look hard enough, listen and use the treetops like I've been telling you to do, you should be able to locate your tribe. That's the best advice I can give you."

"Well… thanks." Said Eglum.

Sckàll only grunted in response.

His armour had dried now, as the heat had become more pronounced by midday. Although the cloth underneath was still soggy, and getting more irritating by the second. All the walking had made his stomach start to play up too, and his headache was coming back, though not as strong as it was last night.

"Let's rest." He said and he and Eglum promptly sat against the nearest tree with the largest trunk.

The duo sat there in silence, with Eglum simply carving various abstract shapes into the bark. Drawing was a favourite pastime of his, and he also did it to calm his nerves. The lack of success in finding his tribe was beginning to worry him and he could not help but think this Hobgoblin could be leading him further away from it.

Sckàll noticed Eglum's carvings.

"What are doing?" He asked, staring at Eglum's work.

"Oh um… Just drawing." Replied Eglum.

Art was a common practice in Sckàll's tribe, though he had never taken part in it himself. It just did not interest him. It was always done with paper and paint though, never with one's own claws and on any surface. Goblins were strange indeed.

Eglum stopped drawing, once he felt hunger grip his stomach.

"I'm getting hungry." He said.

"Kill something then." Sckàll replied, laying his head back against the tree.

"Do you want…" Sckàll cut Eglum off.

"No. My stomach's a fire pit. If I just take a single bite of food, I think I'll explode."

"Alright then." Eglum replied before getting up and searching the area for any small animals to hunt.

This Hobgoblin did not seem the most sociable type. It had been hours, and he hadn't even asked Eglum his name yet. Though to be honest, there didn't seem to be much of a need to. Their alliance was only temporary after all, and as soon as either of them found their people, the alliance would end.

That was if they did find their people…

…

It was evening now, and the sunlight was rapidly beginning to decrease with every second. Even though Eglum and Sckàll could see perfectly well in the dark, as all Goblinoids could, this forest was a dangerous place at night. Various large predators such as the massive Owlbears, became most active at this time and the Kuo-Toa would also patrol more at night as well. Not to mention, the temperature was starting to drop now as well.

"We need to find shelter." Sckàll said, as the air began to cool.

They searched for several minutes before coming upon a small clearing with several large rocks in the centre, that formed a semi-circle. Parts of it were covered in thick vegetation, and there was a slight dip in the centre of it too.

"This place looks good. Good cover and well sheltered." Said Sckàll, looking the place over.

"Yeah, looks nice." Eglum added.

The place actually reminded Eglum of a small stone circle he would often see in his tribe's original territory. Rumours were it was made by giants, or by some… beings from a land beyond the sea with pointed ears. Could this be another one of those?

"Right, we need to start a fire, its getting colder and it should keep animals away too." Said Sckàll.

"Should be easy getting a fire going. Its been dry as a fucking bone these past few days." Said Eglum as they went off to collect firewood and other vegetation.

_Why did this Goblin curse so randomly? _Sckàll thought to himself. Honestly, he'd be talking relatively normally for a bit and then would spontaneously spout out a curse word. Politeness was a virtue in his tribe and other Hob tribes, even to those who did not deserve it. Well that and it was encouraged because any sign of rudeness or insult to a fellow Hobgoblin would be swiftly met with aggression.

Goblins… so close yet so far.

The two sat around the fire, surrounded by silence except for the crackling of the flames and the occasional call of some kind of nocturnal animal.

Sckàll sat there, tired, irritated and above all, worrying. It had been an entire day and they had come across absolutely _nothing, _to indicate the presence of neither Hobgoblins nor Goblins. It was as if the forest had become completely devoid of Goblin life. Various worrying thoughts suddenly entered Sckàll's mind, such as the fire killing his entire warband or his tribe just abandoning the forest to the Kuo-Toa, which would leave him here alone in a forest infested with them.

But, Hobgoblins were fierce and hardy. His kind would not just give up and abandon a campaign now would they?

Eglum sensed the Hobgoblin's mental state and he himself was not faring much better. For all he knew, his tribe could have been attacked and wiped out by the Kuo-Toa. They had managed to kill off his entire warband quickly and efficiently in that ambush, and his tribe wasn't exactly big either. He had seen their forces attack en masse and they hugely outnumbered his tribe's warriors. He dug his own claws into the dirt at the thought of those slime-covered wretches, tearing through and burning down his village. Rage, anxiety and ever consuming fear followed closely behind these horrible images.

Sckàll looked over at the Goblin. He was visibly tense, with his claws dug deeply into the dirt and his eyes clenched tightly shut.

"What's wrong?" Asked Sckàll, trying to get his mind off of his own worrying thoughts.

Eglum's eyes quickly opened at the Hobgoblin's voice and he looked over at him.

"Oh uh… just… thinkin'." Replied Eglum.

"Thinking about what exactly?" Asked Sckàll.

Eglum sighed his ears lowered before replying "I'm just… worried 'bout my tribe 's all. I just… can't help but think something's happened… Like if they've just abandoned this forest or… or the… Kuo-Toa have…" Eglum shut his eyes again, trying to clear his head of those images.

Eglum went quiet again and shut his eyes, clearly unable to continue. Sckàll felt that… feeling enter his head again. It was telling him to do something… to… comfort the Goblin? Why should he do that? He'd only known the Goblin for a day, they'd barely even talked. Besides that, things like soothing and comforting were acts that were only reserved for family members and only when it was necessary, which was often uncommon in most's eyes. Besides that, in his tribe, one was always taught to keep themselves composed and to keep calm, even in the face of extreme anxiety.

But this feeling was persistent. It was pushing, urging him. Telling him to at least do something to help and Sckàll finally relented.

"Hey." Sckàll said and Eglum looked up at him.

"What's your name?" Sckàll suddenly asked.

Eglum was honestly dumbfounded, the Hobgoblin after a whole day, had actually asked him his name?

"Uh… its Eglum." He replied.

"Eglum?" Sckàll said to himself.

"Um… yes it means red. I was named after the colour of my hair." Eglum gestured to his red mane.

"Hmm… its rare for a goblin to have hair of that colour." Sckàll replied.

"Yeah. So… what's your name? Eglum asked, though he was not sure if the Hobgoblin would answer.

To Eglum's surprise, Sckàll did.

"If you must know, its Sckàll."

Eglum nodded with a small smile "Does it have a meaning?".

"Well none that I know of. It may have had a meaning, but its been lost to me." Replied Sckàll.

"Yeah. A lot a words in my own tongue I don't know the meanings of." Eglum replied half-jokingly, Sckàll just nodded.

Sckàll leaned back "Well the moon is getting higher, so we'd better get some sleep. Another day of searching tomorrow and hopefully if the gods are feeling merciful, we'll find something."

The prospect of sleep quickly unnerved Eglum, he was in no way prepared for another nightmare.

"Uh… d'you want me to take watch?" He asked quickly.

"If you want to. I think we're quite hidden here though." Replied Sckàll as he laid down.

To his surprise, Sckàll felt much more relaxed than he was before. Talking really seemed to have calmed both their nerves and Sckàll was quite surprised at how interested he got in their conversation. It probably didn't mean anything though, this was only temporary after all. But for some reason, Sckàll felt oddly satisfied with himself, as if he had just done something meaningful. What the hells it was though, he did not know.

"Well goodnight." Eglum said as he watched the tree line, Sckàll just grunted in response.

Now the only sound was the crackling of the fire and the occasional rustle of the trees.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Here it is, chapter 3 of TSOA. Sorry for taking so long, I've been plagued by a bit of writer's block and have been working on some other projects (my AVP stories are currently on hold for now and I will hopefully be able to get chapter 3 of Necuratu up soon as well).

So anyway the two Goblinoids are finally starting to get to know one another and they'll definitely need to work as team in the upcoming chapters.

Hope you enjoyed.


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